Amp worth fixing?

[90gstman]

So a few days ago I won a NAD 1300 preamp off of ebay for really cheep. I worked great for a few days. I had it paired with a Carver TFM-25 and it sounded wonderful ( Much smoother and easier to listen to than the Denon 1508 they replaced).

So here's the problem. This morning I put on some music, low volume, and walk out of the room for a minute. All of a sudden I hear this loud noise coming out of my speakers: it sounds like fingers running down a chalk board but loud. I jump on the power stripe and shut things down. As I walk by the speakers I can smell a little something. A closer wiff lets me know the BG Neo3 tweeters are both toast.

After pluging, unpluging, and checking everything in the system, swapping out gear to find the culprit: It's the NAD 1300. I open her up to find one of the main caps has sprung a leak and oozed its goodness on to the board. I can see some discoloration of the board around one or two of the components in the vicinity of the cap. Smells burnt.

My question is: Do you think its worth fixing this 20+ year old preamp? I have never attempted something like this and do not have the equipment or the knowledge to do it myself. I could probably soder the parts in myself if I knew which ones to replace or I could bring it somewere to be fixed.

Did I mention it is supposed to have a great phone stage that I have not even tried yet?

 

[TLS Guy]

So a few days ago I won a NAD 1300 preamp off of ebay for really cheep. I worked great for a few days. I had it paired with a Carver TFM-25 and it sounded wonderful ( Much smoother and easier to listen to than the Denon 1508 they replaced).

So here's the problem. This morning I put on some music, low volume, and walk out of the room for a minute. All of a sudden I hear this loud noise coming out of my speakers: it sounds like fingers running down a chalk board but loud. I jump on the power stripe and shut things down. As I walk by the speakers I can smell a little something. A closer wiff lets me know the BG Neo3 tweeters are both toast.

After pluging, unpluging, and checking everything in the system, swapping out gear to find the culprit: It's the NAD 1300. I open her up to find one of the main caps has sprung a leak and oozed its goodness on to the board. I can see some discoloration of the board around one or two of the components in the vicinity of the cap. Smells burnt.

My question is: Do you think its worth fixing this 20+ year old preamp? I have never attempted something like this and do not have the equipment or the knowledge to do it myself. I could probably soder the parts in myself if I knew which ones to replace or I could bring it somewere to be fixed.

Did I mention it is supposed to have a great phone stage that I have not even tried yet?

What do you think? It blew your speakers! It was junk when you bought it and it will be junk after you fix it. I have fixed a number of older NAD units. Not good news. I end up with extensive redesigns and mods. Not good gear. Actually I don't have much good to say about a lot of NAD products.

If you want good older gear buy Quad, Quad and Quad.

 

[90gstman]

I think thats my biggest fear. If I do have the problem components fixed then something else may go wrong due to the age of the unit. And after doing some research last night, a complete upgrade for this unit will run $350 +/-.

Any recomendations on a good sounding preamp in the under $400 range? I would rather buy better sounding used equipment (maybe not as old as the 25 year old NAD) than marginal sounding new.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Hmm, wait until http://emotiva.com/usp1.shtm is on sale - they do sales pretty frequently...

 

[TLS Guy]

I think thats my biggest fear. If I do have the problem components fixed then something else may go wrong due to the age of the unit. And after doing some research last night, a complete upgrade for this unit will run $350 +/-.

Any recomendations on a good sounding preamp in the under $400 range? I would rather buy better sounding used equipment (maybe not as old as the 25 year old NAD) than marginal sounding new.

You should have bought a Quad pre amp in the first place.

Peter Walker designed three solid state preamps over thirty years or so.

The Quad 33

The Quad 34

The Quad 44.

A good used Quad 44 will run you a little over budget, but well worth it.

Peter designed for quality and reliability. I have three 40 year old Quad 33 preamps in regular use. I did minor service on one recently. I have a couple of 40 year old Quad 303 power amps I have never had the cases off.

If I bought any of the above preamps, I would expect a longer and more trouble free life than any new unit I can think of.

The Quad 44 by the way is the absolute king of vinyl playback.

Don't be put off by the fact this gear holds its value. There is a very good reason for that.

 

[90gstman]

Thanks for the preamp opinions. There is a quad 34 on e-bay for a reasonable price. We'll see what happens. Any one have any thoughts on other preamps? Parasound? Rotel? Acurus? Aragon? Adcom? _____?

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks for the preamp opinions. There is a quad 34 on e-bay for a reasonable price. We'll see what happens. Any one have any thoughts on other preamps? Parasound? Rotel? Acurus? Aragon? Adcom? _____?

The Quad 34 is head and shoulders above the rest mentioned. It is no contest. So I would do your best to get it.

 

[audiofox]

You should have bought a Quad pre amp in the first place.

Peter Walker designed three solid state preamps over thirty years or so.

The Quad 33

The Quad 34

The Quad 44.

A good used Quad 44 will run you a little over budget, but well worth it.

Peter designed for quality and reliability. I have three 40 year old Quad 33 preamps in regular use. I did minor service on one recently. I have a couple of 40 year old Quad 303 power amps I have never had the cases off.

If I bought any of the above preamps, I would expect a longer and more trouble free life than any new unit I can think of.

The Quad 44 by the way is the absolute king of vinyl playback.

Don't be put off by the fact this gear holds its value. There is a very good reason for that.

I second the Quad 44 recommendation-I recently picked up a nice used one from eBay (courtesy of TLS Guy's recommendation-thanks!) and have been very satisfied with its performance, especially as a phono preamp. They don't come up for sale very often, so keep your eye out-you won't regret the purchase. BTW, here's a an active listing for a 34:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Quad-34-Pre-Amp-Nice-Condition-Manual-Cables-/180615781906?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item2a0d8a1e12

 

[gregz]

Definitely agree on not fixing the 20 year old pre-amp. I'm going to put it out there that most of today's pre-amps are probably up to the task and then some.

 

[90gstman]

Thanks again guys for the recomendations. I was out bid on a Quad 34 a few days ago but will try again.

Since these units are also 25+ years old, should I be concerened? I have to admit, I'm a little gun-shy right now. I know all electronic components have a life span, not necessaraly in actual years but in time of use, how can I reassure myself in making a $300-$400 purchase.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks again guys for the recomendations. I was out bid on a Quad 34 a few days ago but will try again.

Since these units are also 25+ years old, should I be concerened? I have to admit, I'm a little gun-shy right now. I know all electronic components have a life span, not necessaraly in actual years but in time of use, how can I reassure myself in making a $300-$400 purchase.

Peter designed for parts going out of spec.

Even the Quad 33 late sixties is modular.

Peter published detailed circuits of all his boards and all their iteration, with clear numbering.

His gear is a pleasure to service, as he thought about that in the design.

The circuits and manuals are all over the net.

Numerous sites specialize in service vintage Quad gear.

In my view an older Quad is far less likely to need service than any new unit off the shelf I can think of.

If you have trouble, Bob Flain at Quad in Huntingdon will sort you out. I think he will be there until his dying breath. There are still employees there, including him, who are still devoted to Peter Walker and his legacy.

 

[walter duque]

IMO a 25 year old Quad is gonna last you longer then most of the new stuff on the market today. I have highend equipment from the early 70's and is still working great. Age on a Quad shoud be your last worry.

 

[GranteedEV]

Peter designed for parts going out of spec.

Even the Quad 33 late sixties is modular.

Peter published detailed circuits of all his boards and all their iteration, with clear numbering.

His gear is a pleasure to service, as he thought about that in the design.

The circuits and manuals are all over the net.

Numerous sites specialize in service vintage Quad gear.

In my view an older Quad is far less likely to need service than any new unit off the shelf I can think of.

If you have trouble, Bob Flain at Quad in Huntingdon will sort you out. I think he will be there until his dying breath. There are still employees there, including him, who are still devoted to Peter Walker and his legacy.

Is there any way to pick up a quad amp and somehow squeeze a few more watts out of it with a mod?

Like they're 140w into 8 ohms right? I just like the idea of having something 200+w into 8 ohms and 350+w into 4 ohms. I know 60 watts won't make a big difference, but that's what I want.

 

[TLS Guy]

Is there any way to pick up a quad amp and somehow squeeze a few more watts out of it with a mod?

Like they're 140w into 8 ohms right? I just like the idea of having something 200+w into 8 ohms and 350+w into 4 ohms. I know 60 watts won't make a big difference, but that's what I want.

No there isn't. The amp has plenty of effortless power. Since any decent speaker is actually four ohms these days, it seems to me that 250 watts per channel is plenty.

Not pushing the output triples to their limit, is one of the reasons for the long life and very low failure rate of these amps over time. You have six big output devices per channel that operating well into their safe zone.

Down in the first level of our home I have one Quad 909 driving speakers of 83 db 1 watt 1 meter sensitivity in a very large space. It fills the space and then some.

 

[waynebosz]

NAD 1300 Preamp not working

Hello,

I'm interested in acquiring a NAD 1300 preamp if you are considering selling it.

Waynebosz

 

[90gstman]

waynebosz, I sent you a PM. You do understand that it "Needs-a-fixin" before you can use it?